UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
Fort Worth, Texas

December 1, 1997

SOUTHERN TOPICS

REGIONAL DIRECTOR

MORE AWARDS. We were recently informed of National Weather Association (NWA) award
winners from the Southern Region. Gary Woodall, SRH MSD; Judson Ladd, SRH MSD; and
Suzanne (formerly Nichols) Van Cooten, Lower Mississippi RFC, have been identified to receive
the NWA Public Education Award for 1997. The award is based on their unique concept in
outreach educational activities called Project Twister.

Also receiving an NWA award was George Wilken, NWSFO Little Rock, Arkansas. George
received the NWA Operational Achievement Individual Award for outstanding forecasts of the
March 1997 Arkansas tornado event

Congratulations to all award recipients!

JEFFERSON AWARD PRESENTED. On Tuesday evening, November 25, I had the pleasure
of participating in the presentation of the Department of Commerce Jefferson Award to Mr. Estes
Bozeman of Winnfield, Louisiana. Mr. Bozeman has completed 41 years of service as a
Cooperative Observer. Arrangements were made by the staff of NWSO Shreveport to use the
meeting of the Winnfield Lions Club to make the presentation. One of the local radio stations was
present at the event along with the print media. Television also covered the award recognition by
conducting interviews at the Bozeman home.

METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES DIVISION

SPC Winter Weather Mesoscale Discussions. As part of the change from NSSFC/SELS to the
SPC, it was agreed that the SPC would expand its concentration on severe convective storms to
all types of short-term mesoscale hazardous weather. Even though the SPC has written Mesoscale
Discussions (MDs) for winter weather and heavy rain events in the past, they have been a low
priority and were issued infrequently.

From January 1997 to March 1997, forecasters, researchers, and staff from the SPC and NSSL
participated in a collaborative WINter Weather EXperiment (WINWEX '97). The primary goal
of this experiment was to help define the best format, information desired, and issuance frequency
of SPC guidance products. From WINWEX '97, it was determined that there was a need for a
concise, technical product which contained specific event driven guidance on hazardous winter
weather events affecting the continental U.S. in the 0-9-hour time frame. The winter weather MD
would provide short term guidance on the WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY of an impending
winter weather hazard. Information concerning location, timing, expected amounts, trends, and
mesoscale meteorological aspects of a hazardous winter weather event were also to be included.
The product will emphasize the WHY or the mesoscale meteorological processes that can be
diagnosed and forecast (i.e., CSI, barrier jets, frontogenesis, etc). An accompanying graphic will
be placed on the SPC Web page containing an areal outline of the threat area. The SPC Web
address is http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/~spc.

Over the last several months, the SPC forecasters have been through an extensive winter weather
training program. The training lasted three months and included 16 experts from universities, the
research community, and NWS field offices traveling to the SPC to teach their winter weather
knowledge. The winter weather forecasters went through an operational evaluation period in
October and November and are ready to disseminate winter weather MD's to the NWS field
offices and other users. With the increased priority of issuing winter weather products, field
forecasters will notice a considerable increase in both the number and quality of winter weather
MD's this winter season.

The winter weather MD program at the SPC will continue to grow and mature through this and
future winter seasons. Real time feedback and interactions from field offices on the usefulness of
this product (or lack of) should be relayed to MSD.

NOAA WEATHER RADIO (NWR) AT SPEEDS OVER 65 MPH? It's true! Well, let me
(Ken Graham) explain. Two exciting NWR promotion ideas are becoming reality. First, NWR
key chains are coming soon! This key chain will contain the new NWR logo and a list of all seven
frequencies. The public will have the list as they travel around the country. One question here:
What good is an NWR key chain without an NWR in a car? This question is a perfect segue into
the second NWR promotion accomplishment. After communication last summer with Delco
Electronics, NWR receivers are now included in some Cadillacs. Recent communications with
Delco are even more exciting. Work is underway to team up with Delco to make a presentation
to each of the General Motors divisions concerning NWR and how beneficial receivers would be
in their vehicles. Our goal is to get scanning, seven-channel NWR receivers in all GM
automobiles. Contact has also been made with other auto manufacturers. Currently, NWR
receivers are available or are standard in automobiles made by Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Range
Rover, Cadillac, Jaguar, SAAB, and possibly others. Getting NWR receivers in automobiles
could increase NWR listenership by millions of Americans. Stay tuned. There is more to come!

FIRE WEATHER COORDINATION. The U.S. Forest Service, in conjunction with the
State Foresters, recently held its annual meeting in Tennessee. In attendance for the NWS
were NWSO Knoxville/Tri-Cities' MIC Jerry McDuffie and WCM Howard Waldron, and
NWSFO Memphis' Bill Adams, Fire Weather Forecaster. Discussions centered on NWS fire
weather support to, and ongoing changes within, the agencies. Howard gave a short
presentation about El Nino and its possible impact on eastern Tennessee.

Howard also gave presentations regarding El Nino and NWS operations to the local Lions and
Kiwanis Clubs.

HYDROLOGIC SERVICES DIVISION

TECHNICAL ATTACHMENT. Included in this issue of Southern Topics is a paper entitled,
"Implementation of Modernized Hydrologic Operations and Services in the National Weather
Service: Overview and Status." The paper will be presented at a special symposium on
hydrology at the AMS meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, which is slated for January 11-16. For
those not familiar with the applications and associated capabilities of the Weather Forecast
Office Hydrologic Forecast System (WHFS) included with each deployed AWIPS, this
attachment will prove informative.

WHFS is currently running at three locations in the Southern Region: (1) NWSFO Norman,
which is beta testing the WHFS application that will be delivered with AWIPS Build 3.1 (and
whose color graphic is appended to the end of the technical attachment), (2) NWSO Tulsa, an
AWIPS Build 1 site, and (3) NWSFO San Juan, a beta site still testing the original WHFS
software. In addition, AWIPS (and WHFS) will be deployed at NWSFOs Fort Worth and
New Orleans in early 1998.

PUERTO RICO PROGRESS. HSD Chief, Ed May; Southern Region Cooperative Program
Manager, Mike Asmus; WGRFC senior hydrologist, Patrick Sneeringer; and SERFC senior
hydrologist, Brad Gimmestad traveled to the NWSFO in San Juan (SJU) during the week of
November 17-21. Among the group's accomplishments, Mike and Patrick, working with
NWSFO San Juan's ESA, Fred Parra, loaded the PCROSA and Hydromet 4 software
programs (each QNX based) onto one computer (PCROSA was previously installed on a
separate PC). This enabled Brad to bring what was previously the PCROSA computer (now
configured as a Hydromet 4 computer) back to SERFC for use in data collection endeavors.

The team, with valuable assistance from NWSFO SJU SOO, Shawn Bennett, also managed to
successfully implement the WFO Hydrologic Forecast System (WHFS). They arranged for the
ingest of DCP data from 116 HADS sites [the data will be received by send on receipt request
(SORR) messages] and 34 ALERT sites throughout Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to
the WHFS SJU workstation. The previously mentioned PCROSA data is also displayable
through this workstation.

A discussion about future hydrologic support for the San Juan office from the SERFC was also
held. While the SERFC has modeled 13 river forecast points on Puerto Rico, the "flashy"
nature of the streams precludes them from providing "standard" river forecasts. However,
they will provide hydrologic support by running contingency model scenarios, backing up
HADS data, advising of significant antecedent soil moisture conditions, producing daily flash
flood guidance, providing input before and during heavy rain events via the HAS function, and
continuing its support of the WHFS and Hydromet 4 systems.

Thanks to those on the NWSFO SJU staff for their work on getting WHFS operational, and the
excellent support and hard work provided by SERFC and the Hydrologic Research Lab in OH.

NEWS FROM OUR HYDROLOGIC SERVICE AREAS

FLASH FLOOD WARNING SYSTEM COMING TO COMAL COUNTY, TEXAS.
NWSFO Austin/San Antonio senior service hydrologist John Patton recently met with
representatives from the Guadalupe/Brazos River Authority (GBRA) and Remote Operating
Systems (makers of automated river and rain gage systems) to site five automated river and
rain gage sensors along the Guadalupe River between Canyon Dam and New Braunfels. The
group then met with a number of Comal County officials to discuss funding the endeavor. The
price tag of $80,000, while steep, will be footed by a combination of the GBRA, Comal
County, the city of New Braunfels, and an organization representing river outfitters and camp
owners.

This area has long been a concern to NWS officials in the area because of the Guadalupe
River's "flashy" nature and the thousands of summertime enthusiasts who camp along its
banks and float, swim, and fish the river every day.

BRIAN'S TRAVELS. NWSO Knoxville/Tri-Cities service hydrologist Brian Boyd traveled
to NWSO Greenville/Spartanburg in Greer, South Carolina, to coordinate with their service
hydrologist on hydrology concerns over western North Carolina. The two also discussed the
placement of some new IFLOWS gages that should be arriving into the 17-county IFLOWS
consortium soon. Other items of discussion included Hydrologic Service Manuals and Service
Hydrologist Information Management System (SHIMS).

NEWS FROM OUR RIVER FORECAST CENTERS:

ROAD WARRIOR. SERFC senior hydrologist, Brad Gimmestad, recently spent a week
visiting customers and gage sites in northern Georgia and the Carolinas. While in Darlington,
South Carolina, Brad met with EOC employees from Darlington and Florence counties as well
as Reid Hawkins, NWSO Wilmington employee. They discussed ways of providing river
forecasts for Black Creek. The emergency management folks explained to Brad and Reid that
the worst flooding seemed to be caused by all the tributaries in the Darlington area coming
together into Black Creek below the city of Darlington. A 15-year old river gage was
"rediscovered" and will be put to use again, while several other gages in the area were
manipulated to provide better data and better access.

Brad also met with the NWSO Wilmington staff to discuss cooperative reporting problems
inherent in the Cape Fear area. Most significantly, funding cutbacks have left weekend reports
void. This leaves the NWSO without reports Saturdays and Sundays. Remedies are in the
works.

SCIENTIFIC SERVICES DIVISION

HURRICANE DANNY PRESENTATION FOR WSR-88D PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
COUNCIL. Jeff Medlin, NWSO Mobile SOO, made a presentation at the November meeting
of the WSR-88D Program Management Council on his office's experience with the WSR-88D
during Hurricane Danny. (Refer to the September 1, 1997, issue of Southern Topics for more
information concerning this storm.) Jeff reported that the WSR-88D works well when it is
properly calibrated and proper use is made of clutter suppression. Members of the Council
and OSF staff--who participated via video teleconference--were quite impressed with Jeff's
presentation. Good job, Jeff!

WINTER WEATHER SEMINARS AT NWSFO LUBBOCK. Reports are that the seminars
given by Wes Junker (NCEP's Heavy Precipitation Branch) at NWSFO Lubbock on
November 19-20 were a huge success. Twenty-five people attended his afternoon seminar on
the 19th, including folks from NWSOs AMA, MAF, and SJT and several graduate students
from Texas Tech. Wes repeated the seminar the next morning and 14 attended that one,
including Dr. Peterson and two more graduate students from Tech and one additional person
from NWSO AMA. Wes discussed heavy snow forecasting and led a forecasting exercise.

SOUTHERN REGION OFFICES PARTICIPATE IN AMS DATASTREME PROJECT.
As noted in the November 1997 Bulletin of the AMS, the DataStreme Project is a major
precollege teacher enhancement initiative of the American Meteorological Society. Its main
goal is the training of 4,000 Weather Education Resource Teachers who will promote the
teaching of weather across the K-12 curriculum in their home school districts. The initial step
in the training of Resource Teachers is their participation in the DataStreme distance-learning
course. The 13-week course is offered twice a year to selected participants. It focuses on the
study of the atmospheric environment through the use of electronically-transmitted weather
data and learning materials combined with Study Guide readings and investigations.

The DataStreme course is offered through Local Implementation Teams (LITs) that are located
around the country. The LITs, typically composed of three members, coordinate the selection
and delivery of the course to approximately eight teachers each semester. Each team
advertises the course availability, recruits and selects participants, arranges and holds local
meetings, individually mentors participants on course comprehension and activities, provides
participant evaluations, and assists in developing Resource Teacher action plans.

Staff at NWSO Amarillo, NWSO Lake Charles and NWSFO Little Rock are new participants
in the DataStreme Project this year, with the Lake Charles LIT being the first in the state of
Louisiana. Staff from NWSFO Fort Worth and SRH continue to serve on LITs in North
Texas.

NWS TRAINING PROGRAMS LAUNCH JOINT WEB SITE. The NWS Training Center
(NWSTC) in Kansas City, the Operational Support Facility (OSF) in Norman, and the
COMET Program in Boulder have launched a newly-established Meteorology Education and
Training (METED) Website (URL: http://METED.ucar.edu). Over time, this Web site will
become the principal location for all Web-based materials produced by the three training
programs and information on their training and education activities.

The COMET Program has just completed its first Web module for the METED site. Users
may access the Web module "Mesoscale Convective Systems: Squall Lines and Bow Echoes"
(MCS) via the METED Web site. The MCS training will be released in increments. The
initial release covers the conceptual models of squall line and bow echo evolution. In the
coming months, the COMET Program will make additions to the Web module including the
Physical Processes section and the Case Exercises. We encourage users to review each
increment as it is released in order to fit this training into busy schedules. Completion of the
material presented in MCS will be expected prior to student participation in COMET
case-based teletraining sessions on MCSs in early 1998.

The primary goal of this Web module is to provide forecasters a means to understand,
recognize, and anticipate organized convective system evolution and the associated potential
for producing severe weather, based on an understanding of the physical processes that control
their evolution. Special emphasis is placed on the role that buoyancy and vertical wind shear
interactions have in controlling system structure and evolution. The ability to anticipate what
is possible and probable during a system's evolution allows forecasters to better manage their
activities during these potentially long-lived and severe convective events. Other related
materials will be produced by OSF/OTB and NWSTC, some of which will be available from
the METED Web site.

Options are available for users with slow connections. Once completed, the entire module will
also be made available on CD-ROM. By popular request, COMET has provided an option for
users to access and print a list of the summary bullets from each section via the "Learning
Resources" page (on the home page of the module). Users may also find the complete module
bibliography useful. It is also available under the "Learning Resources" link.

COMET welcomes any comments you may have regarding the content, instructional approach,
or use of this Web module. Users may reach Wendy Abshire and Pat Parrish via the "Send
Your Comments" link from the MCS home page or at abshire@ucar.edu and
pparrish@comet.ucar.edu. Pat and Wendy directed the development of the MCS module and
will be developing future COMET additions to the site. Users who access the MCS Web
materials are encouraged to complete and submit the on-line survey also located under the
"Send Your Comments" link.

CIAMS MEETING FEATURES OLYMPIC MARINE WEATHER SUPPORT. Every
seat was taken at the November meeting of the Cooperative Institute for Applied
Meteorological Studies (CIAMS) at Texas A&M University. The featured speaker was Steve
Rinard (MIC, NWSO Lake Charles) who discussed the weather support for the sailing events
of the Centennial Olympics near Savannah, Georgia.

Steve noted the value of special observations and high-resolution model runs which allowed the
forecasters to make very specific forecasts for several sailing venues. On several occasions the
forecasters accurately advised Olympic officials to continue some races while postponing those
in nearby venues.

Steve also reviewed the expected hiring situation and revised application procedures for those
students interested in working in the NWS.

U.S. NAVY AND NWS INTRODUCE INTERACTIVE CLIENT-SERVER DISPLAY
SYSTEM. Internet CNODDS (ICNODDS) is a client/server system for distributing,
displaying, and manipulating U.S. Navy meteorologic and oceanographic data products. The
acronym CNODDS means Civilian version of the Navy Oceanographic Data Distribution
System. The products include worldwide U.S. Navy WAM and NOGAPS model data, OTIS
sea surface temperatures, synoptic surface observations and upper air soundings. ICNODDS is
a Web application that consists of two parts: the server that maintains data files updated twice
daily, and the Joint METOC Viewer (JMV) client software needed to view the data.

The JMV software has been developed by the Navy to display and manipulate downloaded
meteorological and oceanographic data. It resides on a PC or workstation, and runs under
Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows NT, and HP/Unix 10.x operating systems.

A Web browser that can view frames is required to access the ICNODDS Web site. (Version
3.x or later of Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer are both frame enabled.)
Using a WWW browser on at least a high-end 486 PC, a registered user first downloads the
JMV software from the ICNODDS server. Any of hundreds of numerically-generated
products may then be downloaded for analysis with the JMV. The ICNODDS server also
supports a "public" products area where any user may access a limited amount of
meteorological, oceanographic, and satellite data.

The ICNODDS is made possible through a cooperative partnership between the U.S. Navy's
Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center and the National Weather Service
(NWS). NWS charges no fee to ICNODDS users. Visit the ICNODDS home page at:
http://cnodds.nws.noaa.gov. To become a registered user, select Software, then Request
Account.

PARTNERS PROPOSALS. The COMET Outreach Program has received funding for
Partners projects for fiscal year 1998. Proposals for can be submitted at any time by
researchers who wish to work in partnership with one or more forecastrers. Partners projects
are short and relatively small-scale local efforts; for example, collaborative investigations of
significant events or evaluation of new techniques. They are usually funded at around $5,000
for work that can be completed in one year. There is not a lengthy review process for Partners
projects, but they must be approved by the MIC/HIC and the Regional Director before they are
submitted (by the researcher) to COMET. For more information about COMET's Outreach
Program, including proposal instructions, see the Web site at
http://www.comet.ucar.edu/outreach/, or contact the COMET Outreach Program Manager,
Vickie Johnson, at (303) 497-8361.

NEWS FROM EAST TENNESSEE. Four members of the NWSO Morristown staff
participated in a seminar at NWSO Greer, South Carolina, given by Dr. Steven Koch from
N.C. State University. The presentation concerned frontal precipitation patterns and
dynamics, especially associated with upper-level jets and prefrontal, low-level jets.
Morristown SOO, Steve Hunter, recently visited the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and gave
a presentation on NWSO operations. His talk was aimed at helping the safety operations
personnel at the lab better understand what the NWS does and how our products can assist
operations at the national lab.

CHUCK JORDAN. We were saddened to learn that Prof. Charles L. (Chuck) Jordan passed
away last week in Tallahassee. Dr. Jordan was an integral part of the Florida State University
meteorology department from 1957 until the late 1980s when he retired. Former students will
recall his many years as chairman of the department. He provided leadership as a teacher of
undergraduates and major professor to many graduate students who subsequently joined the
NWS (or the Weather Bureau, in the case of some of us).

Voice mail is a very effective tool, particularly for SRH. We have gone to great lengths to
ensure that our voice mail system operates in the most efficient manner possible. As soon as
the auto attendant begins speaking, you can dial the extension of the person you are trying to
call and be connected. Additionally, if your party is on the phone or not available, you can
leave a message for him/her to call you back. If you require some particular information, it
gives your party the opportunity to get the information and have it available when he/she calls
back. If your party is out on travel or vacation, you will be able to ascertain where your party
is, be given the opportunity to leave a message, or be referred to someone else to handle your
call. Almost everyone at SRH checks his or her voice mail on a regular basis when on travel
or otherwise out of the office.

All field sites are strongly urged to use the auto attendant for all calls to SRH. Using the "0"
option for a call is counterproductive and results in a delay in reaching your party in the listed
divisions. Use of the human operator should be held to a minimum.

CALL MILESTONE REACHED. Offices in the Southern Region exceeded 110,000 calls
under FTS2000 in October. That amounts to an average of about 3,929 calls per office during
the month. This figure does not include SRH calls, nor calls made under a GSA switch.

OBSERVATIONS AND FACILITIES BRANCH

UPPER AIR PROGRAM: B-29 AND B-85 FORMS. Preliminary test transmissions of the
B-29 and B-85 forms is underway. Congratulations to Marion Kukyendal, NWSO Shreveport
DAPM, who became the first to use the Informs package to "officially" transmit the 11/20/97
B-29 form. NWSFO Miami has also been working with SRH in testing the B-29 form. To
date, only six sites have sent test transmissions of the new forms. We are still planning on
using the Informs package to send the B-29 and B-85 forms electronically via cc:Mail starting
December 1. This process will eliminate mail and/or fax costs which continue to rise. The
B-29 form will be submitted on the scheduled dates thrice monthly as we do now. We expect
to be able to submit this form once a month in the very near future.

All SRH DAPMs received a second license for Informs 4.2 on November 14. Each upper air
site should have Informs 4.2 loaded on the designated DAPM/HMT computer by now and also
have installed the Service Pack 1 update. All upper air sites should have also downloaded the
Winzip files "geneb29.zip" and "gene1124.zip" from the Elite Federal Forms FTP site at
"ftp://ftp.elitefedforms.com" under "CUSTOMER." The first zip file contained both B-29
and B-85 forms. The second zip file was an update to the B-29 form which replaces the
original form. Please refer to the cc:Mail sent on 11/14/97, from Gene Witsman, which
provides further guidance and notes of interest.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AND SAFETY TRAINING, NOVEMBER 18-20,
1997. Thirty-one newly-designated environmental focal points from around the Southern
Region met at the Harvey Hotel near DFW airport for three days of indoctrination into the
complex details of U.S. environmental and safety regulations affecting many of the daily
operations at their respective WFOs and RFCs. The Southern Region environmental focal
points come from a variety of job classifications: meteorologists, ESAs, ETs, DAPMs,
HMTs, and one each SOO and hydrologist. For some it was an eye opener to see how
regulated the use and disposal of common chemicals has become. For others it was an
important reminder of how careful we must be to avoid running afoul of recent laws and
regulations governing everyday activities in our NWS workplaces.

Do you know who to call if you have a mercury spill at your site? What about a large diesel
spill? Do you have Material Safety Data Sheets on all of your chemicals? The suppliers are
required to have copies, even if the material is acquired from K-mart or the hardware store.
An OSHA or EPA inspector may ask to see these if they come to your office. Our sites are
considered "small generators" for EPA purposes, but if we are colocated with a larger facility
such as a university, the rules may change to require us to conform to "large generator" status
with more stringent requirements of reporting wastes, etc. In some states the EPA has granted
authority to the state environmental agency if the state's rules are the same or tougher than
EPA's, so the regulations can vary from state to state.

The material was presented by two speakers from Waste Resources, Inc. of Niagara Falls,
New York, and the subjects covered included an overview of ten federal environmental laws;
OSHA standards; personal safety, health, and environmental effects; hazardous properties of
chemicals, including the legal identification of hazardous waste (which requires the skills of a
lawyer to read the rule and a chemist to interpret it); chemical compatibility; Department of
Transportation regulations for labeling, packaging, and transportation; chemical spill response;
and lots more. Most participants went away with more questions that can only be addressed by
communicating with our NWS and NOAA environmental specialists, digging in the large
volume of references that we received, and talking to our local environmental regulators when
necessary.

A compressed, one-day environmental course will be given to all Southern Region MICs,
perhaps at the next MIC conference. The focal points will be available to answer employee
questions on environmental- and safety-related subjects, and they may also ask to talk with
employees to compile additional environmental information in order to build a chemical
inventory for each site.

If you have any environmental- or safety-related questions, please contact your environmental
focal point (see attached listing) or Terry Brisbin, SRH, at (817) 978-2644 ext. 139.

ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT DIVISION

RECENT DEPARTURE. Sam Balandran, EEO Manager/Personnel Liaison, accepted a
position with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Dallas, Texas. Sam's last day
with NWS was November 21, 1997. We wish him well in his new position!

A vacancy announcement recruiting behind him will be out soon. The incumbent serves as the
Southern Region's Equal Employment Manager, with responsibility to develop, implement,
and enhance the Southern Region's EEO, minority, and special-emphasis programs. We
encourage anyone interested to apply for this important position.